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Brooklyn Heights, NY - After posting a pair of wins last week, Wagner will look to make it three in a row against a stout St. Francis Brooklyn squad that claimed a 71-52 victory in the teams' first meeting on January 12. To listen to Joey Wahler's call of the game at Pope Gym while still watching the game on
NEC Front Row, click on the listen live link to access the Green & White audio broadcast. Then to access the video, click on the
NEC Front Row link.
QUICK HITS
* The Seahawks have converted on at least 40 percent of their shots in each of the last eight games, including at least 50 percent three times.
* Additionally, Wagner has converted at least 50 percent of its shots in nine of its last 16 stanzas of basketball during the aforementioned hot streak.
* In the eight-game stretch, the Seahawks are averaging 78.6 points per game while shooting a sizzling 50.1 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from long range.
* St. Francis Brooklyn leads the all-time series between the teams by a 48-39 count, including posting a 36-34 advantage since Wagner ascended to the Division I ranks for the 1976-1977 season.
* The Terriers hold an all-time mark of 17-16 in Brooklyn Heights.
* Wagner, which claimed both meetings between the teams a year ago, has lost four of five and six of eight to St. Francis Brooklyn since posting an 80-78 victory on January 3, 2009.
* The Seahawks will also be looking for their third-straight win against a team that defeated them earlier in conference play (Bryant, CCSU).
* The last time out, Wagner posted a resounding 89-75 victory over NEC leader Bryant as junior
Latif Rivers led the way, scoring 18 of his team-high 20 points after halftime.
* Rivers has now recorded at least 20 points four times this season and 14 times in his career on Grymes Hill, with the Seahawks going 11-3 during that time.
* Over his last five games, Rivers is averaging 15.6 points per game after halftime while converting 64.9 percent (24-for-37) from the field and 66.7 percent (14-for-21) from long range. Over his first eight NEC games, he was averaging just 4.5 points per game after halftime, on 29.7 percent (11-for-37) shooting, including 20.0 percent (3-for-15) from long range.
* Rivers has also notched at least 18 points after halftime in each of his last three Saturday tilts, averaging 22.0 points per game during that time.
* Wagner averaged 95.0 points per game last week, as the 190 total points were the most scored by the Seahawks since recording 199 in back-to-back games in February of 2001.
* Since losing to the Terriers in their first meeting, the Seahawks have four of five at home and are 9-2 at the Spiro Sports Center this season and 21-5 over the last two years.
* All-time at the Spiro, the Green & White is 120-66 (.645) since the building opened in February of 1999.
* At home this season, Wagner is averaging 71.8 points per game on 45.4 percent shooting, including 38.0 percent from long range. On the road, the Seahawks are recording 62.3 points per game while shooting 41.5 percent from the field and 30.3 percent from deep.
* Against Bryant, eight of the nine Wagner players that saw action recorded at least one block as the Seahawks notched a season-high 11. The 11 rejections are the most by the Green & White since notching 11 in a 72-62 victory over Saint Francis U on February 13, 1999.
* Junior
Naofall Folahan led the way with three rejections and has 133 for his career, leaving him two short of matching
Miladin Mutavdzic for second place on the all-time Wagner rankings. Folahan leads the league and ranks first with 1.6 blocks per game (112th NCAA) while Moody is third with 1.5 blocks per game (132nd NCAA).
* With one more rejection the Seahawks will match the school record of 132 blocks, set by the 1998-1999 team.
* Sophomore
Marcus Burton paced the bench for the second-straight game against the Bulldogs with 14 points, four assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals.
* In two games last week, Burton led Wagner in scoring at 18.5 points per game while also adding 5.5 assists each time out. The North Carolina native shot 57.9 percent (11-for-19) from the floor, 50.0 percent (5-for-10) from long range and 90.9 percent (10-for-11) from the line while turning it over just once. In his previous five games, Burton had just 17 points.
* Burton accounted for half (37 points) of the scoring from the Seahawk reserves last week, as the Green & White posted a 74-27 advantage in bench scoring.
* On the year, the Wagner bench is averaging 22.2 points per game while posting a +4.4 scoring and +4.6 rebounding differential. Burton is leading the second unit with 8.1 points per game as a reserve.
* The aforementioned Rivers also had a big week, averaging 17.5 points per game, on 50.0 percent (7-for-14) shooting from deep, while recording a career-best matching seven rebounds against CCSU and a season-high four assists against Bryant. Rounding out the stellar guard play was junior
Kenneth Ortiz, who averaged 12.5 points, 7.0 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game.
* Senior
Jonathon Williams had another big week, averaging 13.5 points per game while recording double-digits in scoring in each game. On the year, the Golden State native has hit for double-figures in scoring a team-best 17 times. He has also paced the squad in scoring on 11 occasions and on the glass 12 times, both of which pace the team.
* Williams, who is averaging a team-best 14.4 points (9th NEC) and 6.7 rebounds (9th NEC) per game, missed the first game with St. Francis Brooklyn. A year ago, he averaged 14.5 points per game, on 61.1 percent (11-for-18) shooting over two games against the Terriers.
* Wagner won for the 31st time in a row when leading with five minutes to play and improved to 13-0 when leading with five minutes to play against Bryant and is 38-1 over the last two years.
* The Seahawks also moved to a perfect 5-0 this season and have won 20-straight games when scoring at least 80 points dating back to the 2009-2010 season. The last time the Green & White scored at least 80 and lost was in a 102-91 setback to Columbia on December 8, 2009.
* Wagner is a perfect 9-0 when leading at halftime this year and is 30-2 over the last two seasons.
* The Seahawks are 10-6 in games decided by 10 points or less or in overtime this season and 20-10 over the last two years.
* Wagner is 10-3 in the last two seasons in February and 14-2 on Thursdays.
* The trio of Williams, Ortiz and Rivers is shooting 50.0 percent (57-for-114) in the final five minutes of games, while notching 63.5 percent of the Green & White's points (216/340) in the last five minutes of games.
* Ortiz continues to rank among the league leaders in scoring (12.0) (17th NEC), assists (5.0) (4th NEC) and steals (1.9) (3rd NEC). Over his three years on Grymes Hill, he has recorded over 500 points, 200 assists, 200 rebounds and 100 steals.
* The Seahawks are 133rd in the most recent RPI rankings while St. Francis Brooklyn checks in at 219.
* Wagner continues to lead the NEC and ranks among the national leaders in blocks (5.2) (24th NCAA), field goal percentage defense (.402) (64th NCAA) and scoring defense (65.8) (159th NCAA) while also placing among the top-100 in rebounding margin (+4.5) (56th NCAA) and steals (8.1) (62nd NCAA).
MOVING ON UP
Rivers moved up to 33rd on the all-time Wagner scoring list with his 20 points against Bryant and now has 1,083 in his two-plus years on Grymes Hill. Up next are
John DiMaggio (1,088) and
Greg Clay (1,099) and
Tony Rice (1,101).
ANDERSON HEATING UP
While freshman
Dwaun Anderson has been a regular on SportsCenter this year with his three Top-10 dunks, it has been his consistency of late that has been making headlines. Over his last four games, the Michigan native is averaging 6.8 points per game while shooting 55.0 percent (11-for-20) from the floor.
MR. ESPN
Anderson recorded his third
ESPN Top-10 dunk against Central Connecticut (#10) before notching his second against St. Francis Brooklyn (#6) and his first at Wagner's Madness Before Midnight event (#6).
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
With their 101 points in a win over the Blue Devils, the Seahawks cracked the 100-point plateau for the first time since besting Sacred Heart in a double-overtime thriller on February 14, 2008.
ADDITIONALLY ...
Wagner's 61.4 percent conversion rate from the field against CCSU was the Seahawks' best performance from the field since making good on 64.7 percent in an 89-70 win over Saint Francis U on January 15, 2005.
THE LAST TIME ...
The Green & White recorded 100 points in a regulation game was in a 105-86 win over Maryland Eastern Shore.
FIRST HALF FURY
Wagner notched a season-high 52 first-half points against Central Connecticut while shooting a season-best 69.0 (20-for-29) from the field. The 52 points also was better than or matched the Seahawks' scoring output in six games this season.
BENCH LIGHTS IT UP
The Green & White reserves notched a season-high 44 points, on 65.2 percent shooting (15-for-23), with 20 rebounds in the aforementioned win over CCSU.
BURTON'S BIG GAME
Leading the bench was Burton, who notched a career-high 23 points and seven assists, against no turnovers, over just 24 minutes against the Blue Devils. He also converted on 6-of-9 from the floor, 3-of-5 from deep and 8-of-9 from the line.
CONFERENCE/NON-CONFERENCE SPLITS
During NEC play, Wagner is averaging 72.9 points per game while shooting 47.0 percent from the floor and 38.3 percent from long range. During non-conference play, the Seahawks averaged just 58.4 points per game while shooting 38.2 percent from the field and 27.6 percent from long range.
DURING LEAGUE PLAY ...
The trio of Rivers (14.2 ppg), Williams (13.2 ppg) and Ortiz (13.1 ppg) have combined for 50.4 percent (514/1020) of Wagner's scoring.
CLOSING IT OUT
Williams is shooting 56.4 percent (22-for-39) from the field and 91.4 percent (32-for-35) from the line over the last five minutes of the second half this year. The Golden State native has also converted all eight of his free throw attempts in overtime.
TALE OF TWO HALVES
Wagner is averaging 35.8 points per game in the second half on 46.3 percent shooting from the floor, compared to just 28.4 points per game in the first half on 40.8 percent shooting.
BROOKLYN STATE OF MIND
Former Wagner head coach
P.J. Carlesimo is currently 18-8 since being named as the interim coach of the Brooklyn Nets. Carlesimo ushered the Seahawk program to the Division I level in 1976-1977 and was the head coach for six seasons.
STATE OF MIND
The Seahawks have defeated teams from eight different states (CT, MD, NC, NJ, NY, PA, RI, TX) this year.
SENAT SIGNS
Mason has announced the signing of Marianapolis Prep forward
Greg Senat to a National Letter of Intent for the 2013-2014 season. The 6-8, 225-pound Senat is Mason's first recruit for next season.
WAGNER GARNERS NATIONAL EXPOSURE ... AGAIN
For the second-straight year Wagner will host LIU Brooklyn on
ESPNU, as the teams will tangle on “The U” on February 24 at 8:00 pm. Last year, the Seahawks went 14-4 when playing on television, including a perfect 10-0 on Time Warner.
ON THIS DATE ...
The Green & White is just 4-7, but has won three-straight games when playing on February 21st.
UP NEXT
Wagner returns home to host LIU Brooklyn on Sunday, February 24 at 8:00 pm in a game that will be televised nationally by ESPNU.
FOLLOW ON TWITTER
Follow Wagner Athletics on Twitter (@wagnerathletics) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department, @WagnerHoops for news and updates on the men's basketball program and @bashirmason to follow the Seahawks' first-year head coach.
Photography by Dave Saffran
